The Plantagenets by Dan Jones

I recently read The Plantagenets by Dan Jones. For those unaware, The Plantagenets are an English Royal House originating from Anjou in France. The House was descended from Henry I of England was via Empress Matilda, who had a disputed claim to the English throne, which was resolved when her son Henry II of England was agreed to be the heir to the throne, as the first of Plantadenent dysentery.

The book covers the events leading up to Henry II becoming King through to his descendant Richard II losing the throne to his cousin Henry Bolingbroke in 1399, resulting in the Lancaster branch of the line becoming the Royal House.

The Plantagenets oversaw numerous events in English History, from Richard I cusading in the Third Crusade, to John losing the English lands in modern day France that led to the signing of the Magna Carta, one of the most important documents in English History, from Edward I conquest of Wales and attempts to be overlord of Scotland (best remembered in the awful Mel Gibson film Braveheart) to Edward III starting The Hundred Years War, which would dominate English foreign policy till well into the 15th Century.

The book is well written and is an interesting read on how England rose from a period of devastating civil war (known as The Anarchy) to be an highly organised kingdom.